How do you grow
mistletoe? Can you graft it? I’m trying that now. In years past I’ve tried
smearing seeds on the bark with no success. I see mistletoe most common in
swamps in tupelo gums. Outside of swamps it appears more likely around houses
and usually only on the higher branches. I have never seen it on pine trees.
(Little Rock)
Mistletoe seeds form in the translucent pearly white fruits. The seed is wrapped in a sticky substance called viscin. Viscin is the main component responsible for seed dispersal and survival of the mistletoe seed until it germinates. Birds eat the berries and then the seed either passes, unaffected, through the birds system, or the birds will rub off the offending sticky substance from their beak onto the branch they are perched on. Either way, the seed dries onto the branch protected by the viscin which is strong enough to keep rain from washing the seed off the branch.
Smearing the seeds should have worked. Try making a small nick in the branch before you smear the seed. In the spring, with warm weather and sunshine, the seeds germinate. Upon germination it sends out a root-like organism called a haustoria which slowly penetrates the host branch, until it reaches the inner xylem layer from which it takes up water and minerals. Once established, it can live for many years, or as long as its host. Grafting may work, but I have never tried it.